'Smart' surveillance: sensor-fusion software technology replacing traditional security systems.

• Author: Jean, Grace
• Position: SECURITY TECHNOLOGY

As more and more security cameras are being installed around the globe, companies are developing software solutions and other technologies that increasingly advance the intelligence of such monitoring systems.

While analysts contend that cameras do not necessarily prevent crimes, industry experts say that making them smarter will allow security specialists to be more proactive in stopping wrongdoers.

Closed-circuit television systems first appeared in the early 1960s. Today, they are ubiquitous. Though the exact number of deployed cameras is unknown, estimates show that in the United Kingdom--the world's leading user of video surveillance--there are as many as four million cameras in operation.

The usage of cameras in the United States continues to grow. Since 9/11, many cities have funneled millions of dollars from homeland security funds into purchasing visual monitoring systems to protect their populations.

"Camera surveillance systems are very visible, so people believe something is being done," says Melissa Ngo, staff counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research organization located in Washington, D.C. However, she says, studies have shown that such systems do not deter nor decrease crime. Many times, they simply cause criminals to conduct their business elsewhere.

"Crimes seen on cameras are petty crimes--drug deals, people drinking in public, these types of situations," says Ngo. "I want my homeland security funds to go to people and to programs where we will be able to stop terrorist activities."

Last summer's suicide bombings in London are a prime example of cameras not deterring acts of terror. Despite having an estimated 200,000 cameras watching public areas, the city fell victim to four terrorists who boarded three underground trains and a bus and detonated explosives, killing 56 people and injuring hundreds on their morning commute.

But following the attacks, British authorities were able to reconstruct the events and identify the bombers using video footage.

"Camera surveillance systems are very good for finding people after the fact. However, sometimes they can't even do that," says Ngo. In Washington, D.C., for example, police installed numerous cameras to catch a serial arsonist. Though he was never caught on video, the suspect was later apprehended following traditional police forensic work, says Ngo.

"Machines will never be able to do the thought processes that humans can. You don't...